How important will the UO Portland campus’ new product design degree program be to the Oregon economy?
Oregon is a manufacturing-based economy, and we don’t have a product-design program anywhere in Portland. There are states with populations less than the entire metropolitan area of Portland, but they have a product-design degree. It is very important, especially now that a product is not about the thing anymore. It’s about the thought process and the ability to think and to bring the design thinking into solving business problems. That’s where I’m involved with the UO…to make sure we’re developing designers who are problem solvers.
